ushernet Chapter 324 I Want to Have a Baby
Chapter 324 I Want to Have a Baby
Chapter 324 I Want to Have a Baby
The next day, Li Huanyan's mother-in-law, Madam Chen, arrived at the ancestral hall early.
Li Huanyan knelt on the blue brick floor with her head down, heartbroken and exhausted.
&34; The Chen family's six generations of only sons have been cut off in your useless belly! &34;
The old lady Zhang's jade nail guards brushed against the altar, and the ancestral tablets gleamed with a chilling aura in the morning light.
The agarwood prayer beads on her wrist slammed heavily against the rosewood table, startling the eternal flame in the gilded candlestick.
Eight paintings of children at play were displayed one after another on the four walls of the hall. The children, painted with gold and color, were holding peaches and riding bamboo horses. Their laughing faces were yellowed by the incense smoke.
Li Huanyan stared at the empty, gilded frame of the last painting—the place where the fourth-generation eldest grandson of the Chen family should have been painted was now reflecting her disheveled hair.
&34; When we matched your birth charts, they said you had the appearance of someone who would bring a son, so you were welcomed into the family in a grand sedan chair carried by eight men, and everything you ate and wore was in accordance with the standards of the Goddess of Fertility? &34;
Zhang's withered fingers suddenly clamped down on her chin, the pearl on her jeweled ring digging into her flesh. "And the result? Four years, a full four years! You gave birth to three daughters, but couldn't even keep a son, Yi-ge'er!"
"Mrs. Li, I'll go find someone to help Yi Ge take a concubine tomorrow! Do you have any objections?"
"Mother-in-law, I can still have children! I can still have children for my husband!" Li Huanyan pleaded, clutching the hem of Zhang's clothes tightly.
She didn't want her husband to be with other women; that was the man she loved.
Even though she gave birth to three daughters, her husband never resented her.
He would gently hug her and say, "Huanyan, we have Pan'er, Zhi'er, and Ting'er, that's enough!"
How could she bear to give such a good husband to someone else?
“Li, did I not give you a chance? Four whole years, and you couldn’t even give birth to a son. How can you face my son?” Zhang accused.
"Mother-in-law, it's my fault. I failed to give the Chen family an heir. Please give me another chance! I'm sure I can give birth to a son!"
“Sister-in-law, that’s not very nice of you to say. You know, if my brother doesn’t have a son, the family business will have to go to the clan. How can we just give away the family business that our ancestors worked so hard to build up?”
Her aunt Yu Shan's rouge-colored skirt brushed against the back of her hand, the pomegranate red and gold-embroidered hundred-child pattern stinging her eyes.
"Mother, I think we should find a few more. Surely one of them will be able to give birth to a boy." The young girl's fingertips, freshly stained with the juice of balsam, were a deep, almost blood-red. Her gold-inlaid jade nails lightly touched the empty picture frame. "Our Chen family line cannot be severed!"
The sandalwood incense suddenly became so strong it was pungent, and Li Huanyan felt like crying again.
"Alright, I think we should do it this way. Li Shi, you can go back now!" After saying that, Li Huanyan's mother-in-law left with her sister-in-law.
Li Huanyan was left dejected and sitting on the floor of the ancestral hall.
Li Huanyan was helped back to her room by the old woman, feeling dejected and bitter.
She knew that if she really took a concubine, her status in the family would plummet.
She couldn't help but sob, burying her face in the blankets. "Young Madam, would you like to see the Third Miss?"
Seeing her young mistress so heartbroken, Li Huanyan's nanny quickly tried to distract her.
Li Huanyan indeed wiped away her tears; she hadn't seen her daughter all day.
Although the child was also a girl, she had resented the other child for not being born as a boy, but after the resentment subsided, she still felt sorry for her daughter.
Especially this little one. Because the doctor said she was a boy, Li Huanyan had put a lot of effort and emotion into her. Now, she really couldn't bear to give her up.
"Bring Ting'er here so I can see her!"
The maid quickly brought Ting'er over. The child had a rosy face and big, bright eyes.
Li Huanyan took her daughter, her heart filled with tenderness.
Just then, a commotion broke out outside.
It turned out that her husband, Chen Yi, had returned. He went straight into the room, saw his daughter in his wife's arms, and then saw his wife's red and swollen eyes. He instantly understood everything.
“Madam, don’t be afraid, I will not take a concubine.” Chen Yi gently held Li Huanyan’s hand.
"My lord, the Chen family cannot be without an heir," Li Huanyan said worriedly.
"I have made up my mind. If fate decrees that my Chen family will have no heir, then I will let this vast fortune be distributed among the clansmen. I only want you and our daughters to accompany me for the rest of my life." Chen Yi's eyes were firm.
Li Huanyan was deeply moved upon hearing this and threw herself into her husband's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"But, but my mother-in-law won't agree!"
Li Huanyan and Chen Yi were a good match, as both families were business owners.
When Li Huanyan first joined the Chen family, she was a little apprehensive, but with her husband's careful care, she quickly adapted to life in the Chen family.
My mother-in-law used to be kind and approachable, and my sister-in-law was easy to get along with. It's all because she couldn't give birth to a son.
In their area, no family has a son. After a daughter gets married, the family business is handed over to the clan. Even she was favored in the family because her mother gave birth to a younger brother.
"It's okay, don't worry about it, I'll tell Mom!" Chen Yi hugged his wife and daughter.
He didn't really care whether he had a son or not; his daughter was fine too. It was just that the thought of his mother made Chen Yi feel a bit uneasy.
However, considering the family matter, Chen Yi was confident he could persuade his mother.
"What? You don't want to take a concubine! Was it that woman Li who instigated you?! I knew she agreed on the surface, but she definitely had her own plans!" Zhang slammed her hand on the table.
"Mother, isn't this normal? What woman wants to share her husband with someone else?"
“No, this matter must be decided by me. It’s not that I didn’t give Li a chance, four years! Look, she only gave birth to daughters! Son, I’m not saying she’s bad, but you know, without a son, the Chen family’s wealth will all go to the clan. How can I face your father after I’m gone?” Zhang was on the verge of tears as she spoke. She couldn’t let the Chen family be ruined in her hands.
“Mother, but taking a concubine won’t help. Have you forgotten that my father and grandfather took many concubines, and they all had daughters?”
Chen Yi began to state the facts, and indeed, that was the case.
It seems the Chen family is cursed; ever since they prospered, each generation has only had one son.
No matter how many women you find or how many concubines you take, in the end only one son will be born.
Perhaps this is the fate of the Chen family!
"Son, you never know. Why don't you give it a try?" Zhang still held out hope.
“Mother, Li and I are still young. Why don’t you wait a little longer? If we really can’t have a son, we can talk about it later. Adoption is also an option!”
Chen Yi then proposed another idea.
"No, absolutely not! The Chen family's ancestral property will only be passed on to children with Chen family blood!"